Following hotfooted upon the recent exchanges between Japan and the U. S. (TIME, Dec. 29, Jan. 5) of official declarations of friendship, Lieutenant General Issei Ugaki, Japanese Minister of War, expressed his pleasure at an arrangement, recently announced from Washington, whereby Japanese and U. S. language officers will be exchanged for six months.
In the most amicable of terms and tones, the General said:
“I wish to endorse fully the statement of Secretary of War Weeks regarding the friendly exchange of language officers between the armies of Japan and the United States. This exchange indicates a friendly feeling between the two armies.
“Relations between Japan and the
United States are bound to be friendly by virtue of the geographical positions of the two countries. Likewise, the political and economic ties of the two countries assure continued friendly relations. War talk is powerless in the presence of the solid facts.
“Aside from the foregoing considerations, the deep-rooted sentiment of sympathy, gratitude and friendship consistently maintained by America for 70 years cannot permit Japan’s feeling of good-will to be fundamentally affected.
“Problems of a transient nature between the two countries can be solved successfully by wise statesmanship. We need fear nothing from these situations. However violent the propaganda which may arise, the policy of my Government will be consistently for permanent peace and lasting friendship with no idea, no dream, of war with America.
“How is war conceivable between two armies that exist to all intents and purposes only for the defense of the national honor and the liberty of their peoples ?”
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